decision dubbed “Projek IC” was on humanitarian grounds but genocide in Sabah

We’re not Myanmar who let people die at sea, Dr M says in Projek IC’s defence BY BOO SU-LYN - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/were-not-myanmar-who-let-people-die-at-sea-dr-m-says-in-projek-ics-defence#sthash.mezvumjJ.dpuf KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad defended today his controversial citizenship award to Sabah’s illegal immigrants, arguing that the decision dubbed “Projek IC” was on humanitarian grounds. The man who helmed the government for 22 years before quitting office insisted that Malaysia was not like Myanmar whose Rohingya people have been left to die at sea in their bid to escape state-sanctioned discrimination. "We're not like the Burmese," Dr Mahathir replied to a question from the daughter of the late Datuk Arif Salleh, the first Keningau MP in Sabah, during a question-and-answer session at the Cooler Lumpur Festival here . "People who live there for 800 years are expelled, said to be non-Burmese, now left to die at sea. Do you want to treat people in Sabah like that?" he added. Dr Mahathir also pointed out that Malaysia's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had given citizenships to immigrants from China and India after the country became independent in 1957. The Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) concluded last December that the controversial “Projek IC”, in which citizenship was allegedly awarded to illegal immigrants in Sabah in exchange for their votes in elections, may have existed based on witness testimony. “Projek IC” is said to be responsible for the abnormal spike in Sabah’s population, where foreigners comprise nearly 30 per cent of the state’s 3.12 million-strong populace. Dr Mahathir, who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been repeatedly named as the man who spurred the initiative. The Kedah-born said today that the immigrants in Sabah were given Malaysian citizenship during his time in office because they had been living there for over 30 years and they spoke the Malay language, but their children were still unable to go to school. “That’s not right...The way to treat people who settle down over time until they blend in the local scene is to accept them. We accepted Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs,” Dr Mahathir added. - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/were-not-myanmar-who-let-people-die-at-sea-dr-m-says-in-projek-ics-defence#sthash.mezvumjJ.dpuf